NHL Winter Classic 2026: How to watch Rangers-Panthers for free

The back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play host to the visiting New York Rangers tonight as the NHL Winter Classic — a New Year’s tradition — heads south for the league’s first outdoor game in Florida.

Tonight’s matchup on the Miami Marlins’ home field also marks the first time the Panthers will suit up in an outdoor game.

Their opponents are no stranger to outdoor games, though; the Rangers will play in a sixth, tying them for the second-most in the league. Over the five previous outdoor matchups, the Rangers are undefeated.

How is the league making an outdoor game in sunny Florida work? For the first time, they’ll utilize two mobile refrigeration units pumping more glycol coolant through the aluminum pans that create the base for the rink (typically, one unit is used for an outdoor game). The ice will also be 25% thicker than the standard.

With temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s as the sun goes down, the NHL plans on opening the retractable roof of the stadium for a full outdoor experience following successful tests over the past few nights.

2026 NHL Winter Classic time

Puck drop at the 2026 NHL Winter Classic is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET tonight, Jan. 2.

How to watch the NHL Winter Classic for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the Winter Classic for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching hockey live for free — its five-day free trial has TNT, plus the rest of the channels you’ll need to stream the NHL season, local channels included. When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange 1-Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including TNT. Sling also offers 3-Day and 7-Day for its Orange plan.

2026 NHL Winter Classic location

The 2026 NHL Winter Classic will be played at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. LoanDepot is the home stadium for the MLB Miami Marlins.

2025-26 NHL Season key dates

• Jan. 2: NHL Winter Classic (Panthers vs. Rangers)
• Feb. 1: Stadium Series (Lightning vs. Bruins)
• Feb. 6-24: Olympic Break
• Feb. 22: Olympic Men’s gold medal game
• March 6: Trade deadline
• April 16: Regular season ends

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on all of the best deals to shop at Bath & Body Works, and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

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